That’s a lot of chewing, a lot of roughage, and a whole lot different than the mainstream way of eating–especially when you layer on the fact that you should be topping your giant bowl of goodness with an oil-free, low-sodium salad dressing.

And that’s where this Hummus-Balsamic dressing revolution comes into play!

It Satisfies Taste & Texture

The hummus brings a savory creaminess to your salad party while the balsamic brings a tangy, slightly-sweet flavor.

Vinegar also helps tremendously when you’re craving something salty. In fact it helps trick us into thinking we’re eating salt–and that’s really awesome when you’re striving for less than 300 to 400 milligrams of added sodium per day!

Do you crave lots of flavor diversity? I love that you can have a bite of your salad with straight-up hummus then go for another bite with only balsamic.

Or you can get jiggy with it and just mix all that goodness together right in the bowl!

What is the best store-bought balsamic vinegar?

This needs to be addressed.

Cause there’s a lot of not-good balsamic out there and then there are some serious gems that just make this whole Hummus-Balsamic revolution ignite!

Don’t suffer with a bad balsamic vinegar. See that tall bottle of Sprouts Organic Balsamic in the picture above? I bought it after having good balsamic and boy does it not hit the spot at all now. It’s reserved for cooking only.

Balsamic vinegar quality matters, especially when it serves as such a prominent flavor in your giant daily salads 😉

I have to thank my sister for introducing me to Flora organic Balsamic when we visited her in Florida over the summer!

Just like the Trader Joe’s balsamic above, this is a high-quality, extremely-flavorful balsamic that is just a joy to eat! Great balance, color and flavor–I highly recommend this brand! I even seriously contemplated ordering a case of it from their online store!

Artisan / Boutique Balsamic

You most-definitely will find superior balsamic at local specialty shops. And the best part is most every one of them will let you sample!

There are often flavored vinegar–like lemon, herb, and other fruits. Just make sure that there are no added sugars in the flavored balsamic–ask the shop about this explicitly.

And for this salad recipe I don’t recommend anything other than a regular balsamic–no special flavors required!

Okay, I think you’re ready for this quick rainbow salad video to get inspired:

To make this rainbow salad recipe you’re going to need to start off by making a batch of No-Oil Extra-Creamy Hummus like, right away!

How long has this been going on?

Yeah, I’ve been doing this for a while now.

I’m coming up on almost 3 months of eating this oil-free hummus and balsamic dressing combo and there are seriously no signs of the infatuation slowing down.

If anything, the craving for this creamy-tart duo only grows stronger.

I’ve found myself purposefully challenging myself to eat at least one salad each day with my other favorite oil-free dressings like:

Hi, I’m Kristen! I adopted a nutritarian lifestyle over six years ago and I've been sharing my experiences ever since. I’ve found that a successful life stems from eating to live and it’s my mission to make this lifestyle doable for everyone who’s ready to end their issues with troubled eating, weight gain and food-related disease!

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Discussion

sharonsays:

Hi Kristen! This looks delicious. One question: Do you count hummus in place of beans? If I am trying to lose weight, should my hummus replace the beans I would normally put on my salad? Is there an easy way to calculate that?

Yes, you can count hummus as part of your daily bean intake! In his “Daily Dozen” protocol, Dr. Greger recommends 3 servings of beans daily and considers 1/4 cup of hummus equal to one serving. Dr. Fuhrman hasn’t made this distinction but I go off of Dr. Greger’s approach!

Grab my FREE 38-page get-started plan!

Receive "The 7-Day Salad Cleanse" plan for free when you sign up for my weekly email newsletter! I share how adding more salad to your existing diet will help you get healthier and lose weight–you pick your pace and follow 4 easy rules!